


yours against the knife

by constellationfights



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Gen, Metaverse (Persona 5), Minor Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Minor Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru, Palaces (Persona 5), References to Macbeth, References to Shakespeare, mentions of sugimura, time to delve deep into haru okumura's mind..., traitor au, traitor haru
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constellationfights/pseuds/constellationfights
Summary: Haru tried to kill her father in his palace. Akechi saw. That was how she became a black mask. And that was how she decided that no one would ever control her ever again.Traitor Haru/Black Mask Haru AU
Comments: 30
Kudos: 32





	1. countdown

It took far too long for the Phantom Thieves to leave the room, leave Haru alone with her father. He'll be fine, they said. But that's not enough for her. 

But she was running out of time. The alarms made that much clear.

10.

She has to do it now. Now. Or she was never going to get the chance. Or she was going to die now, too. This revenge wasn't worth dying for.

9.

They're going to hear her. They're going to know. 

8.

How could they know? The palace was disintegrating. She could hardly hear her own thoughts. How could they know?

7.

Ignore the crying. This was not her father. Her father stopped existing long ago. Now she had to end it. 

6.

He couldn't even see her. Couldn't even see the gun. It's pathetic. He wouldn't even know he's gone.

5.

It's done. She did it. Now go. Go. 

4.

Fuck. He was still breathing. Do Shadows breathe? Can they? 

3.

Another gun shot. God, it's loud. But he's gone. Disintegrated into ash.

2.

Who...?

1.

A black mask. The black mask. She couldn't see their eyes. But they saw her.

Haru made it out alive. The rest of the Phantom Thieves were too worried about the palace self-destructing that they barely even notice her ten second absence. Just as she planned. Better than she had planned.

But who...

She celebrated her win. She made it out alive. She was a Phantom Thief now, truly and fully. And they don't know what she had done. It's like they couldn't tell. They couldn't even imagine it.

She waited for the change of heart. And when her dad appeared on screen, he keeled over, dripping black. This was what she had done. This was all she wanted.

Justice.

But God. He was in pain. It's gruesome. Much worse than a gunshot.

Good. It's what he deserved for all he's put her through.

When the police came to Haru's house, she played the grieving daughter all too easily. It's as if she rehearsed it. But no. She simply slipped into it without a second thought.

That is, until a detective her age asks to pull you aside. She had gotten used to getting pulled aside, especially by law enforcement. She had the answers memorized. They all asked the same meaningless questions, anyway. 

But he caught her off guard.

"Noir, is it?"

"What?"

"That's what they called you in the palace."

"I...I have no idea what you're talking about." 

Damn it. The easy lying was over. 

"I saw what happened with you and your father. I know what you did."

Ten seconds. Ten seconds, and he'd seen it all.

So he...

"I know what you did, too. You..."

"Now, now. No need to put any kind of label on it. It seems we both have a secret we wish to keep."

"What do you want?"

"Don't worry. I'm not intending any kind of blackmail. Rather, I propose a partnership. I believe our aims are in alignment with one another."

"...why?"

"You're one of them. You have insider information. I have my own connections."

"I don't need connections. I have what I want."

"I was under the impression you had a certain fiance you wanted to get rid of."

"I can take care of him myself."

"Ah, but wouldn't that seem rather suspicious? Especially so soon after your father's demise?"

She sighed. "You're right."

"Then it seems you understand. Well, what do you say?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because without me you have everything to lose. The Phantom Thieves are criminals. And if they were to find out what you've done...well. And of course, that pesky fiance of yours..."

Even if it's not blackmail, it still felt like it. But he didn't seem to be lying. And he was certainly not wrong.

"Fine. I'll help you."

He smiled. There was menace in his eyes, the kind she couldn't see behind his mask back in the palace. Was it there when he shot her father? Did he even care at all? 

“You’ve earned your black mask, Okumura-san."


	2. awakening

The trouble with trusting teammates is that eventually they'll only think of themselves. The fact simmered in the back of Haru's mind as the team descended into Mementos once again. It was only for training and fulfilling a small handful of requests, but it was dangerous. The kind of place where you needed teammates, even though they were their own liability. 

Haru fought as hard as she always had. She was still a Phantom Thief, after all. She called upon Milady and wielded her axe in a familiar blur.

But they kept going deeper. And deeper. And deeper. 

Finally, at a safe room, Haru gasped in a breath and tried to speak.

"I think we should go back and leave Mementos for now."

"We still have another request," Morgana replied. "I'm pretty sure they're just another floor down."

"I think if we heal up a bit, we can handle it. But Haru's right. We shouldn't go too much farther today," Makoto added. 

Even though she had agreed, Haru couldn't help but feel a sting of betrayal. Another request on the way. One she'd already agreed to, at that. So there was no turning back now.

She bit down on her tongue and waited for the medicine to be passed to her, swallowing it down and wincing. And that was it until the next battle.

It wasn't nearly enough. She felt the strain every time she called Milady, felt her fingers going numb from holding her axe so tightly. It wasn't nearly enough.

Dying in the Metaverse wasn't permanent. Or, at least, it didn't have to be. It didn't feel like dying. It felt more like floating, or more like being suspended in nothingness. One sharp moment of searing pain, and then a void bigger than imagining. 

For the most part, the Phantom Thieves were able to avoid it. Constant healing, defense boosts, switching out from the mainline. But they weren't strangers to death. 

Haru was a newer acquaintance to death. Enough so that when she moved to dodge the shadow's attack just a second to late, the snap of panic made her gasp. She heard the sound of someone screaming her name - what for? she was already gone - and then, the nothingness.

Can it be called waiting in a place without time or space? There's just enough of her left to wonder what would happen if they never brought her back. Maybe it would be this, only, always.

She’s learned the routine. It’s a burden to revive someone in the middle of battle, when all the efforts are focused on defeating the enemy. It’s a waste of time, energy, resources. Really it often came down to how much help was needed on the front lines in that moment. If her life was necessary or not for that moment. 

It turned out to be. The green blossom of life arrived, pulled her out from the nothingness, and heaved in a breath. 

"Thank you," Haru said, before her first thought had even coalesced. 

She continued on with the battle, and no one said a word about it. They never did. 

What would they say, anyway? Casualties were just a part of battles in the Metaverse. They were almost always reversed quickly enough, because there was always more to be fought. 

Yet Haru still wished they would say something. She didn't want to resent them. No. She didn't resent them. Or at least she kept telling herself that. So she carried on and fought as if she didn't resent them. 

When Akechi requested she go with him to Mementos that same night, every part of her screamed no. But she couldn't refuse him. Not this early.

She crept off into the night and met him right on the dot. He was back in the black mask, with the glowing red eyes. The shadowy malicious form from her father's palace seemed...different. Less frightening. Less threatening. 

It was enough that she felt like she could explain what had happened earlier that day.

"Have you ever fallen in the Metaverse?"

"No. I can't. I always go alone."

"Oh. Well, I could--"

"Like your teammates took your sweet time reviving you today? I'd rather avoid it in the first place."

Haru sighed. "Okay. Noted."

"You should know better than to trust any of them with your well-being. Especially now. If any of them find out--"

"I know."

"Do you? Really?"

Haru sucked in a breath through her teeth. 

"Okumura-san. If you learn only one thing from me, learn this: no one else will ever look out for you. If you give too much, they will betray you. You have to look out for yourself, because no one else will."

"Not even you?"

He laughed. "Don't even think of making the mistake of trusting me."

Well...that was far from reassuring. But Akechi had placed his fate in Haru's hands just as she had in his. If not trust, there was some sort of tenuous balance.

"What's our goal, here?" she asked. 

"Irrelevant. All you have to do is support me. Feed me information about the Phantom Thieves and aid me when I ask for it."

Haru wasn't ready to settle for this. "I can't properly support you unless I have some idea of what we're trying to do. And how can I know what information is important without context?"

Akechi sighed. "Fine. Well then. The Phantom Thieves are a threat. But they can also be a tool for advancement. There are those who wish to take advantage of this. Watching their public perception plummet means that someone can grow from it.

"Like the Detective Prince."

"Exactly. Now, their public approval has gone down to almost nothing after the death of your father. I'm sure they're already thinking of ways to regain their prominence. And without someone carefully regulating that, well...who knows what they'll do?"

Haru took a moment to swallow this down. "So...your goal is to prevent the Phantom Thieves from gaining power?"

"Well, if you want to simplify it, yes."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hurt the Phantom Thieves. They...they helped me with my father."

"And then you killed him and destroyed their reputation. I think the damage has already been done."

Akechi stared at her, waiting for her reaction. But the cogs were still turning. 

"But...you were there too. You fired the final shot."

"Hm. Good observation," he replied. "I suppose you realize, then, that your father's death was destined regardless of your decision. You just happened to make it a bit easier."

A void grew in Haru's stomach. All of that turmoil, all of that careful detail and fear...and everything would've turned out the same regardless. The only difference was which finger pulled the trigger first. She was starting to feel dizzy, but she forced herself to choke it down. She couldn't let Akechi see. 

Haru didn't have to hide it for long. "Shadow approaching," he announced. "Prepare for battle."

She heaved in a breath and refused to say a word. This was crucial. 

But her exhaustion showed almost immediately. Milady was shaky, flickering, barely stable. This was worse than the period before her second awakening, the time she thought would be her weakest with a Persona. 

Haru herself was just as unsteady, failing to dodge most attacks and spending most of her energy on harried defense. It was Akechi on the offense, landing almost every blow and hissing whenever Haru messed up once again.

Finally, the Shadow fell, victim to Akechi's sword. He stared down at the spot where it had just stood as he spoke.

"I expected better from you."

There's no increased malice in his voice, only a simple statement of fact. Still, it's a dagger to her chest. 

"I thought I had earned my black mask," she snapped. 

"You've earned a place on this team. Now you have to prove you deserve to keep it."

Team, hm? It hardly sounded like a team to Haru. Especially not now. 

"What happened, Okumura?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, I just...Milady wasn't responding,and I..."

"Enough," Akechi said, cutting her off. "Just tell me. What happened when you awakened your Persona for the first time? What was that spark?"

"I had two awakenings."

"Oh? So you already have two Personas?"

"No. My first awakening was a partial one. I...I didn't actually find my rebellion. I was just trying to protect Mona-chan. I wandered into the Metaverse and he was in danger, so I..."

"How heroic of you."

Syrup dripped from his voice, mocking with a sour aftertaste.

"My second awakening was the full one. I rebelled against my father. And Milady found her full power."

"That rebellion didn't include murdering him, did it?"

"I hadn't decided on that yet," she admitted. 

"Good.”

“Good?” She didn’t regret pulling the trigger, making the decision, but she wasn’t sure how any part of her father’s death could be called good. But Akechi, as always, was thinking ahead. 

“You should have the potential to awaken another Persona."

Another awakening? It didn't seem possible. And even if it was, Haru wasn't sure she wanted to do it. Awakenings were beautiful, but they were just as painful. The fire into the rush of adrenaline, the tear and the blood...it was hard enough to do twice. She could hardly fathom doing it again, even if Akechi wanted her to.

But there had been clear triggers for it, both times. She made a decision and the Persona followed. She couldn’t simply decide to have a Persona on its own. Or so she had thought.

"...how?" She hated how weak her voice sounded, so shivering and quiet.

Her answer came in the sound of a zap, searing pain in her rib cage, and Akechi's smoking gun.

"What...what the fuck?" she screeched. 

"Fight back. Without Milady."

"You shot me!" 

"And I'll do it again. Fight back."

Haru took her axe out from her back, felt its weight doubled in her tired hands. She started to charge toward Akechi, lifting it up, but then bam. Another shot, this time to her shoulder.

"Why this?" she said, between caught breaths. 

"There's a part of you you've yet to realize. It's not going to come out unless you make it happen."

"And shooting me is the way to make it happen?"

"I can use my Persona if you'd prefer."

"No!" 

"Then summon another Persona."

By this point in any other battle she would've swallowed down a pill or requested healing. But there was no one else here. And Milady wasn't coming, even as she desperately tried to call her despite knowing it was against the rules. It was just her and the axe that was slipping through her fingers.

Another shot and her knees gave out from under her. Haru could feel it - one more blow and she'd be cast back into the void. And there was no promise Akechi would take her out. 

And there he was, standing above her, gun pressed to her head. 

"What? Are you going to die here in the Metaverse? Do you really not have it in you to fight back?"

She wanted it to be anger, but maybe it was just self-preservation. Even so, she felt it. Worse than dying, she felt herself splitting in two.

Not yet. She wasn't going to give up any time soon. She was shattering and burning, but the gun was no longer against her head. Milady was slipping to the back, and there was something new emerging, coughed up from the part of herself Haru had always tried to resist. But no more.

It's her.

"Lady M."

Blood red and velvet green, laced with gold, holding daggers and crowned with light. Her new Persona. Her other side. 

And her. There were no mirrors, but one glance down and one hand across her face told her that her new mask was intricate lace, her gloves were a dark satin that promised to never let a bloodstain show. 

A jewel-encrusted dagger now sat encased on her hip. She slipped it out and rushed toward the distracted Akechi, whose awestruck focus was still on Lady M. 

Strong as he was, Akechi was still slender, easy to knock down when he was unfocused. Her dagger ended up a hair's width from his neck, the point perfectly poised above him. 

"Enough," she breathed. 

"Now that's more like it."


	3. plans

Haru could smile.

She was shocked by how easily Lady M came to her, how the power flowed from a core she'd only just barely begun to tap. Lady M had the psychological prowess of Milady with a physical slam that never let a Shadow out alive. 

Calling her just felt right. It was fun, even. But Akechi didn't seem to agree. He seemed almost irritated by her newfound joy. 

Haru took a moment to catch her breath, replace her mask, watch the Shadow's last essence drift away into the depths of the collective unconscious.

"What is it?"

"When was the last time you summoned Milady?"

"...the last time I was in Mementos with the Phantom Thieves?"

"And when was that?"

"A few days ago. A little less than a week, I think."

Akechi gave a long sigh. "Summon her now."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Haru grit her teeth. "Fine."

She put a hand to her mask, closed her eyes, and cried out Milady's name, throwing out her arm. 

Nothing.

"As I suspected. You've grown too reliant on your new powers. You're losing your original self."

Haru searched for words of protest but came up sputtering nothing.

"Do you realize what happens if you can't summon Milady? If you show up with the Phantom Thieves in those clothes, wielding Lady M?"

Haru nodded, glad her mask obscured at least some of her flushing face. 

"The real work is the performance. It's making sure no one near or far suspects you. And the moment you lose Milady, the moment it's over."

"I understand," Haru replied. 

Akechi took a moment to think, tilting his head just so. 

"We need to start meeting outside of Mementos. If you keep relying on Lady M, things are going to get worse. I think our operations should be based outside of the Metaverse from now on."

Haru's heart caught in her throat, leaving a burning behind.

"But wouldn't that be just as dangerous, if we're worried about getting caught?"

"Not necessarily. Get a burner phone," he said. "Your usual one will be too easy to track, especially now that you're a target. And we'll need a safe place to meet, going forwards."

Haru spoke almost instantaneously. "The Okumura Foods offices."

"After everything that's happened. Really."

"Yes, really. I am now a majority shareholder. I practically own the company because of my father's death. There's a lot of people trying to control what I do, but...at the end of the day, I control them."

"Well, then. Let's set a date and time. And I'll meet you then."

The stakes couldn't be higher. Yet Haru couldn't help but feel a little rush of glee - it felt like she was pretending to be a secret agent, with confidential meetings and burner phones and team names. That Akechi had agreed to her location was another point in her favor - maybe this meant they were actually a team. 

She made her place in the ghost of her father's office, the unsigned papers, the wiped computer, the picture of her as a child that she turned down as soon as she spotted it. It was almost enough to make her miss him. It was almost enough to make her wonder if pulling the trigger could've been avoided. 

Maybe Akechi felt it as he came in, too. He wasn't the kind to let anxiety show, but there was something about the way he tightened his fist that let Haru know something was wrong.

"Are you absolutely certain this is safe, Okumura-san?"

"It has to be. My father kept everything very close to the chest, I doubt he'd have an office that anyone else had easy access to."

"You doubt. You don't know." Akechi sighed. "Perhaps we should begin searching for an alternative meeting space."

"No. It has to be here."

"Why?"

Haru's mind started spinning. Why? Why was she so adamant that it be here, this office, this building? And then she realized.

"My fiancé will ask where I've been, if I'm anywhere else. This is the safest place for me to be, because there's so much business I have to do. He won't question it."

Akechi paused.

"You still spend time with him?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Why not?" 

"I don't have a driver's license. He knows where I live. He knows the maids. The contract is still on."

For maybe the first time since the two had made contact, Akechi seemed genuinely concerned for her. 

"I thought you controlled the business. Couldn't you break off the contract?"

"It's out of my hands." She swallowed. "I think it's above me, at least for now."

"Hm. And that's why you killed your father?"

"Yes."

"Okumura-san. What is it you do want?"

The words spilled from Haru's tongue before she even had the chance to think them. "My fiancé dead. That's all."

Cruel and cold and truer than steel. It had always been Sugimura who was the real enemy. It had always been his fault behind everything. He was the reason her father had to die. 

Before Haru could get too lost in her thoughts, she was interrupted by Akechi's voice.

"So what's your plan?" 

When she didn't answer, he continued.

"Surely you have some sort of plan. If you care so deeply about removing him, then you must have some idea of what you want to do."

Haru's eyes flitted around. "I thought...I thought you were going to help with that. As part of the black masks."

"I _can_ help," he said. "But that's your battle. I have nothing to gain from it, as far as I can see. Come up with a plan and then I'll help."

Her mouth felt dry. There had been two reasons she'd said yes to Akechi that first day. One was fear that the Phantom Thieves would hear the echoes of the gunshot. The other was someone else to take care of Sugimura. And now she was right back where had begun, only with more baggage, more fear.

She couldn't bear to think about it any longer. 

"Speaking of plans...there's still some things regarding the Phantom Thieves I don't understand. The principal had a calling card before he died," she said. "Was that you, too?"

"Obviously." 

"Why?"

"Timing. Okumura dies as he confesses, the principal of Shujin Academy, rumored birthplace of the Phantom Thieves, dies in that same period. The Phantom Thieves are changing their tactics, making revenge their justice. They're threats. And finally the public will understand."

Haru took a moment to let this sink in. Still, there was something missing.

"But what do you get out of it?"

"You'll see in due time. Maybe you should be asking instead what you get out of it. I assume your inheritance has been a worthy prize..."

"I never cared about the money."

Akechi laughed. 

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I do. I just think you'll find you care about the money now that you can lose it. Have the Phantom Thieves requested your financial support?"

She shook her head. "No. They would never accept it, unless it was something I could benefit from, too. And even then."

"They aren't having you fund a publicity stunt?" Akechi let out a puff of a laugh, amused with his own joke.

"No."

"Certainly the Phantom Thieves are planning _something_ for damage control. Maybe a new target?"

"No," she said. "Not yet."

"Any leads?"

"Everyone's too busy with exams."

Akechi tilted his head. "Surely there's something you're not telling me."

"I mean...we've certainly spoken about it, but we haven't decided on anything yet."

"I believe I know where they're going. Niijima-san is going to be taking up the Phantom Thieves case. Seems like an obvious next target. And she has a hit in the Metanav, too."

"You mean Sae?"

"Yes. I'll need you to gather information."

Haru blinked in confusion. "Why? Don't you work with her? I haven't even met Sae Niijima, only..."

"Makoto. Precisely."

"But you work with Sae. Directly."

"We are professional affiliates. There's an entire other side to her I don't have access to. But her sister does. And you know her sister. Your Mako-chan, yes?"

Haru managed to keep her face straight, but felt heat rushing to her face. 

"Yes."

"You two seem...close."

Her voice emerged with a stutter. "If...if you know all of this, w-why do you need _me_ to gather information?"

Akechi shrugged. "Some things are only said between friends, behind closed doors. Simple as that."

That next day, sitting in the rooftop garden after school, Haru didn't feel like much of a double agent. With Makoto sitting beside her, winded from the surprisingly intense labor of garden work, she just felt like a quiet girl trying to quell her bubbling feelings.

"I'm impressed that you can remember how to take care of all these different plants. You do it so well, too."

"Oh, it's nothing," Haru said, swinging her feet. "It's really the only thing I do, so it's not too hard to memorize things."

"It's still impressive!" Makoto insisted. "I mean, you've got _orchids_. I've heard those are almost impossible to grow."

"Do you want one?"  
"What?"  
"Do you want an orchid? Maybe you could keep one yourself. It would help you be able to help me better," Haru replied with a small laugh. 

"Maybe. I don't know if I can trust my green thumb without you around to guide it."

Akechi's voice pulsed in the back of Haru's mind. She wasn't supposed to be talking about orchids. She was supposed to be talking about Sae, about the way she was at home, about what Makoto knew. But she didn't know how to ask. She didn't want to. No wonder Akechi barely trusted her. 

But as frantic as Haru's silence was, it was Makoto who finally burst.

"Haru, I was wondering if you might be interested in going to grab a coffee together sometime?"

Haru turned to face her, lips parted to respond, but words escaped for several soft, windswept moments. Finally, she managed something only just above a whisper.

"...a date?"

Makoto started blinking rapidly. 

"I mean, uh, yeah! If you're interested in that. But if not the offer's still up, because...I just...I really want to get to know you better. Outside of the Phantom Thieves."

Outside of the Phantom Thieves. 

There's a moment where Haru felt as if she was about to tell Makoto everything, reveal every plan Akechi had shared with her, confess the blood on her hands, all in some vain attempt to feel free again. But she only said three words.

"I'd love to."

Even Makoto's shy, content smile wasn't enough to ease the boulder that was pressing down Haru's chest. Just barely a Phantom Thief, just barely a black mask, just barely the heiress to Okumura Foods. A thousand competing pounds resting on her shoulders and yet somehow she was still standing. 

Everything had stopped making sense the moment someone else stepped out of the shadows to finish her father off. But she couldn't find a way to leave. Not now. Not anymore. 


	4. victim

"Oh. I have his number."

Haru's shocked face might've given her away immediately, except that everyone else looked just as surprised. 

Akechi knew Akira. Akira knew Akechi. It was simple enough; Haru could list a thousand ways they could've met and bonded. But instead she sat there and felt her heart hollow out and turn to ice.

Her mind started spinning. What did this mean? She could've sworn that she was the one in the Phantom Thieves who knew Akechi, she was the one who was on the inside. 

But Akira knew Akechi. Were they working together, too? The leader of the Phantom Thieves, allied with the man who was trying to take them down both in public and in the shadows. It would be scandalous. And, more importantly for her, it would destroy her purpose. What was the point of having an inside woman when you had the leader himself?

Haru took a breath, tried not to hold it. If Akira was really trying to do something sneaky, he wouldn't reveal to the whole team that the two knew one another. 

Still. This was dangerous. Haru had to tread carefully until she could meet with Akechi alone again. Tread even more carefully when he was there in front of them, at the school festival. The group meal was simple enough. But there was something about him, in front of a crowd hanging onto his every word...that felt dangerous.

She watched in quiet awe as Makoto managed to keep her calm as the interview turned to the topic of the Phantom Thieves. Haru wanted to lie like that, to pretend nothing was wrong even when everything was crumbling in front of a crowd. Haru was too afraid to say a word even just around the Phantom Thieves. It seemed too dangerous.

And then Akechi said he knew who they were. His eyes flicked up to the balcony where most of the Phantom Thieves were gathered. She couldn't help but follow his gaze, grateful that she wasn't a part of that group. 

What was he doing?

Haru had to believe in Akechi, had to trust that what she was beginning to worry about wasn't going to happen. The reveal of their identities was one thing, but God. If he told the rest of the Phantom Thieves about her. Or if this was an attempt to take them out in one strike, rendering her useless.

The sudden phone chime made her jump. What perfect, terrible timing. Almost as if it was planned. Knowing Akechi, it almost certainly was.

When she received a message to meet up privately, it only made sense. Even so, she couldn't help but worry. He hadn't said a word about this to her. What was he planning?

She stood on the opposite side of the room, letting Makoto take a more aggressive place in front of her. But she could still see Akechi's evidence perfectly well.

Pictures of them, seemingly disappearing into the air. 

Why this? Why now? She could play the part of the shocked girl well enough - it wasn't far from how she felt, only due to a different reason. And then he started talking about another culprit. The black mask. Some bullshit story about how he'd awakened his Persona.

Maybe it was only because Haru already knew the truth, but she saw right through it. 

He continued on to demand that they work with him in regards to the black mask case, using the evidence as blackmail. A fair enough plan, the dangers of the Phantom Thieves getting caught was enough to grant him control. 

She thought at any moment he would cast suspicion on her. After all, she was the other black mask. No matter how much she protested, she had been a part of her father's death, too. But he didn't. It was as if she barely existed. Just another Phantom Thief. Just another member of the team he now had under his thumb. 

Haru just had to wait until their next meeting. They met once a week, which had been plenty for the opening stretch. But now she could hardly see across the gulf that had been created by his unforeseen movements. There might as well have been years since their last meeting. 

She kept those thoughts to herself in the Okumura Foods office, waiting for the inevitable, familiar knock. Haru was silent as Akechi entered the office, but couldn't help but slam the door shut once he was inside. 

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Simple. I needed your reaction to be genuine."

"You couldn't have told me anything?" Haru pushed.

"Perhaps I could have. But it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Toying with her made him smile. Or maybe it was the fact that he was right. But Haru wasn't done.

"What about you and Akira-kun? How do you two know each other?"

This managed to make Akechi stumble, if only for a moment. 

"Doesn't it make sense to get to know the leader of the Phantom Thieves?"

"Maybe. But you weren't supposed to know that he was the leader until you got those pictures."

Akechi shrugged. "Maybe I'm uncovering information the same way you are with your Mako-chan."

Now it was Haru's turn to stumble. It wasn't the mention of Makoto that threw her off, so much as what it implied. 

"You're dating him?"

He sighed. "I find him intriguing, is all."

"Because he's the leader of the Phantom Thieves? Or--"

"Is there a point to your interrogation, Okumura-san?"

The sharpness of his voice cut her off immediately.

"I just want to know what's going on," she finally said. "I want to know what I'm supposed to do."

"Now that I'm a part of the team, I'll garner most of the attention, and you can take care of the details. I'll give you orders when necessary. It's good to have someone who can move in the shadows." 

It was a perfectly sensible move. But it was too vague for Haru's liking. 

"What about Makoto?"

"If you learn anything new, let me know. But she doesn't have to be a priority anymore. The Phantom Thieves are already moving on to Sae's palace, so it's not as if information is lacking."

"So...what _exactly_ should I do now?" 

"Just wait. I'll have something for you soon enough. Train in the meantime. Don't lose your grip on either persona. Keep an eye on your phone."

With that as a last bid of confidence, Akechi nodded and said his goodbyes. Haru would have her time, her work. That was what he claimed. But the underlying message was clear: Haru had outlived her usefulness in less than a month.

He could get rid of her at any moment. Haru was just where she had started: a pawn in someone else's game, ready to be sacrificed in someone else's advance. Her father, Sugimura, Akechi - they were all the same. And she was always the one who lost.

She hated that it made tears well up in her eyes. She was terrified, subject to the plans that Akechi had only explained half of. Now she had to make plans of her own.

It would be so easy to take Akechi down. All she had to do was whisper in Akira's ear, tell him about the deaths, the path toward destruction that she had helped trace. 

And then what? She couldn't share information without getting questioned on how she had received it. Eventually it would all spiral out. Eventually the blood on her hands would be bright, bright red for the world to see.

So what now? Akechi had her backed into a corner. That was probably where he had always wanted her to be. He wanted her doing his bidding so long as she was useful, and silenced when she no longer was.

There had to be a way out. There had to be a way to free herself, and maybe even use Akechi's own work against himself.

Shimmering in her mind was a hazy memory of a self-defense class. The memory arrived in fragments: the instructor goading her on, sparking the fear of a situation where Haru would be the victim, destroyed as the frail little waif she was.

It wasn't real then, of course. But it was enough to make Haru afraid. It was enough to make her angry. Just like she was now. 

Then there was a gap. She had simply blanked out until the sound of the ambulance brought her back, the forceful warmth of her father's hands between her shoulders, guiding a dazed Haru out.

"Is she going to be okay?" she asked. 

"Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a lawsuit," her father replied.

Self-defense could be quite dangerous. That much was certain. She couldn't remember what she did, only that it had hurt.

But God. If it wasn't better than being the victim.


	5. serpent

When Akechi explained that he was going to kill Akira, Haru's only surprise was that she was somehow unsurprised.

She expected herself to protest. Akira had been kind to her, had welcomed her into the Phantom Thieves. He didn't hold any resentment against Morgana after he'd ran off with Haru. He was good. He didn't deserve to die. 

But Haru said nothing. She simply nodded. Akechi seemed so proud of himself, having concocted a perfect plan to isolate Akira and end his life. 

That was his first mistake. He was telling Haru so that she knew to look out for how the Phantom Thieves perceived him, making sure they didn't suspect a thing. But he could've asked for the same thing without explaining his plan. He was simply too proud.

When the Phantom Thieves revealed that they had wiretapped Akechi and discovered his plan, having suspected him the whole time, Haru remained unsurprised. Of course Akechi couldn't keep his mouth shut. His perfect plan couldn't go unnoticed.

The Phantom Thieves already knew about Akechi. She didn't have any leverage there. But Akechi didn't know that they knew.

And then Haru knew. She had a way out. She didn't have to be the victim anymore.

"You're late, Akechi."

She struggled to keep a smirk out of her voice as he entered the office. If she'd been hoping for a reaction out of him, she didn't get one.

"I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Irrelevant."

"Any chance you were spending time with Akira?"

Akechi didn't meet her eyes, but he froze. Bullseye. 

"I'm testing his skills."

Haru stifled a laugh. 

"Isn't seeing him in the palace enough?"

"That's with Shadows. I don't care how well he can defeat predictable scum." Akechi sighed. "Like I said, it's irrelevant."

"I'm not so sure about that," Haru said. "I thought you were going to kill him."

"The plan hasn't changed."

"Then why test him?"

"Know your enemy."

Haru heaved in a breath, knowing it was time to begin.

"You're obsessed."

"I am not."

"Deny it all you want. That doesn't stop it from being true." 

"Is there a reason you feel the need to press this?" he said, a slight tilt of his head. 

"Because it's a liability."

"Taking down the leader of the Phantom Thieves is the perfect way to eliminate their power."

"Do you really think they won't try to get revenge? That the death of their leader won't inspire them to greater action?"

Akechi shook his head. "What better way to break their spirits than by taking away their leader?"

“You know the Phantom Thieves. Do you really believe that?”

“I do. But if you’re so convinced otherwise, tell me. What would your plan be? Take on all of them at once? Didn’t you just claim that would be the problem?”

Haru scoffed. “Of course I wouldn’t try to take them all out at once. You turn them against each other, make them question each other, break those bonds. And then it’s just swatting flies.”

“And by the time you accomplished that you would have been found out.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I might just be better at hiding my true self." She paused. The moment of truth. 

"You know they’re onto you.”

He didn’t. 

“Damn it,” Akechi hissed. “Did you leak something?”

“No,” Haru said, the hint of a lilt in her voice. “You did. You weren’t careful enough and they caught your whole assassination plot. They know exactly who you are.”

The two sat in silence for a moment and Haru wondered if she had won. But Akechi was not done speaking, not quite yet.

"Just who's side are you on, Okumura?"

"This isn't about sides. But if you want to get through this unscathed, you have to listen to me. I’m the only one who can get you through.”

Akechi had never looked more furious with her than that moment. But he didn't say no. 

"Fine, then, Okumura. What do you suggest I do?"

And from that point on, she was in control of the black masks. Haru was certain Akechi suspected her motives, but it didn't matter. She hadn't lied about anything. He _did_ need her guidance. 

Maybe the Phantom Thieves suspected her too. But if they did, they didn't show it. They had told her all about the plan to foil Akechi. After all, she was a part of it. 

And even if they did, what did they have against her? She wasn't trying to kill anyone. She wasn't trying to make a big event. She wasn't like Akechi. Not a true traitor. 

Haru had two teams under her belt and a plan well on its way. The only thing she had to do to stay on top was to make sure she was as strong as possible. She wouldn't have to worry about anyone knocking her down if no one was capable of it. 

Into Mementos, on her own. She just had to pray that no one else was training at the time. It was unlikely, at least - the Phantom Thieves almost always went as a group, and Akechi had other things to worry about, especially now. 

Shadow after shadow after shadow. The only thing holding her back was her own stamina, running through the skeleton of humanity on her own. Lady M carried her deep, deep into the tracks, without the need to heal anyone or fret about their weaknesses. 

Even though Haru had refined her skill using Milady in front of the Phantom Thieves, when she saw Lady M she knew there was something different, something more. 

Lady M was her true self. This was who she really was inside. This was how she would rebel against every man that had ever wronged her. All it took was a little performance. 

_To beguile the time,_

_Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye,_

_Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower,_

_But be the serpent under ‘t._


	6. shutdown

All was going according to plan. Akechi placated, the Phantom Thieves distracted. Makoto beside Haru in the rooftop garden.

Too busy for dates, the two girls had started catching any moment they could spend with one another and at least masquerade as something else. With that came the uncertainty over what their relationship was, exactly. But they both knew perfectly well, even if they couldn't say it.

Haru swung her legs a few times and then hopped off the ledge she was perched on.

"This is terrible. All of it. Just. Everything."

Makoto gave a clipped laugh.

"I certainly don't disagree with you." 

"Akechi-kun...I never would've expected it from the way he seemed on TV. But I guess you can't always trust appearances."

"Yeah," Makoto replied with a sigh. "Then again, I always knew there was...something. I saw him with my sister, before...I don't think he liked me very much."

"Does my Mako-chan have a rivalry with the Detective Prince?"

She laughed, a little louder and more genuine this time.

"I wouldn't call it a _rivalry_ , especially not now."

"But something like that."

"Yeah. Something like that."

She took a moment to think, and then deflated. 

"It feels almost wrong to be lighthearted right now," Makoto said. "It's like...the stakes are so high."

Haru considered this for a moment.

"What happens if something gets messed up?"

"I really don't want to think about it," Makoto said. "We just have to trust that my sister will do the right thing. I think she will. I hope she will."

"Mako-chan...I say this with love, but she's not the one I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"Akechi. How do we know he's going to do what he said he was going to do that one time? What if he suspects we know?"

"Then I guess we can say goodbye to our leader."

The wind rustled the leaves, saying all the things they could not.

"It's going to be okay," Haru said. "It has to be."

And it was. All was going according to plan.

She found out he was dead when locked in a car with Sugimura, her wave of emotion blocked by her disgust. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, dead by suicide. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. But all she could think about was his fingers tangled in her hair, his drifting smile. How much it disgusted her.

She cowered away, as she always did. She had to. She couldn't let anything slip. Sugimura's moment would happen soon. But later. There still was too much left to do now. 

Everything went perfectly. Akechi shot a cognitive Akira, leaving their real leader unscathed. Or, really, covered in bruises but still alive enough. 

They had all gathered, all smiles and questions in Leblanc. Even Sae Niijima and Sojiro were there, allies to the cause. They'd foiled Akechi, who didn't have a clue what they had done. Or, at least that was how it seemed. 

The Phantom Thieves told the story of their plan with such glee. It was a brilliant plan, after all, one that worked perfectly. Akechi probably didn't even know yet, they thought. 

Oh, if only they knew.

From the first discovery, to crafting the plan, to putting it in motion - it had all gone as planned. The biggest variable was Sae, but she performed her role as admirably as anyone else. It all went as it should. Yes, they had to keep Akira secret and safe. Yes, they had to find some way to come back to society and regain their reputation. But for now they could celebrate.

At least for a few minutes. 

One Phantom Thief didn't engage in the festivities so much. Futaba distanced herself from the group a little, wrapped up in something on her laptop screen. Hardly anyone took notice - it was nothing that different from normal, really. But Haru couldn't help but feel her eyes flick over.

"You guys?" There was a slight shake in Futaba's quiet voice.

A few people twitched as if they had noticed something, but no one turned to face her. She loudly cleared her throat, and then repeated her call.

"You guys? It's...it's important. It's bad. Really bad."

Silence set upon the group like the flip of a switch. No one wanted to be the first to speak, so Haru took the job on herself. 

"What is it, Futaba-chan?"

Futaba absentmindedly tapped at a few keys on her keyboard, as if it would change anything. It didn't. With one more deep breath to keep her together, she spoke. 

"Akechi is dead."

A chorus of shock rose up. Gasps, exclamations, hands running through hair, blank stares of disbelief. Only Akira stayed completely still, frozen, as if time had stopped the moment Futaba spoke. 

"I know. I didn't want to believe it either," Futaba said. "But it's all over the police records. Just a matter of time before the press find out."

"What _happened_?" Ryuji asked.

"All signs point to a mental shutdown," Futaba replied, her voice descrendoing.

"But that's impossible. _He_ was the black mask," said Ann. 

"Clearly it wasn't impossible. Some other bastard had to do it," said Ryuji. 

"We know there was a mastermind," Makoto added. "Maybe they have the ability to use the Metaverse, too."

"How could we have missed that, though?" Morgana said. "We were so careful...we noticed everything."

"Is it possible he did it to himself somehow?" Yusuke asked.

"I...I don't know..." Makoto said. "I'm just as lost as the rest of you."

"It's got to be someone else," Ryuji said. 

"But who?" Morgana cried. 

"Whoever it is, they knew exactly what they were doing. Akechi dead from a mental shutdown? When everyone thinks our leader is still in custody?"

"It could ruin the Phantom Thieves forever," Haru said, her voice breathy. "So what does that mean for us now?"

She watched Makoto's jaw tense as she tried to hold back a flood of emotions. 

"It means we have a traitor," she said.

The conversation was over. All was going according to plan.


	7. dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: violence against children, description of suicide  
> Hello everyone! I wanted to make a quick note about the violence in this piece, and this chapter in particular. While I have tried to keep moments of violence vague, the implications present are still very strong. I've added the graphic violence archive warning to this piece as a whole, as well as the trigger warning at the beginning of this chapter. Please take care of yourself, everyone! 
> 
> Also, apologies this took so long to get out. This is probably going to be the longest and most complicated chapter in the fic (and definitely one of my favorites, too!). It also happened to fall right when school started kicking in. But I'm really proud of how this came out - I hope you enjoy!

Akechi couldn't make it easy for Haru. He couldn't just be another shadow laughing in the depths of Mementos. No. His desires were too big. His mind was a massive, sprawling palace, drawn in the bright lights and cheery colors of an amusement park. 

The choice to kill him came easily. Akechi was a liability now, and had been a danger since the moment he'd seen her in her father's palace. He wasn't planning on helping her, and even if he was there was little he could do. He was just as useless to her as she was to him.

Finding his shadow, though, was far more difficult. All the hours she'd spent alone in Mementos with Lady M, the bruises and cuts she tried to hide but Sugimura always managed to prod at, the exhaustion she choked back when she was with the Phantom Thieves, it was all for this. She was finally fighting on her own. It might kill her soon, but not yet. She still had work to do. 

A palace seemed so much larger now that she was on her own. This was what Akechi had done for months - Haru wouldn't let herself forget that. She wouldn't let herself lose to him, not in his own palace. She'd hoped that maybe his shadow would make an easy, early appearance. But that would be far too simple. No, he was going to make her fight. 

And fair enough. She'd learned self-defense for a reason. Now she just had to put it to use.

In through the front gates and onto the main street. She wanted to make this quick, if at all possible. But where could he be?

Her gaze flicked up to the shining towers rising above everything else. 

The castle. Of course. If Akechi was the most important person in this world, then the castle was the only place he could be.

Invigorated, Haru started running to the castle doors. She would miss all of this one day - the sneaking, the secrecy, the air rushing through her hair and the adrenaline seeping into her veins.

But as she reached the door, her excitement quickly shifted. There were three locks laced across the front doors. She pulled down on them, jostled the doors in some vain belief that maybe they might just shake open. But of course, they stayed perfectly locked.

With a low growl, Haru pushed away from the doors. Well, at least she knew what she had to do: find the keys, as soon as possible. 

Where to next? The answer wasn't clear, so she simply chose a direction and started running. She didn't hide from a single shadow. She didn't need to. 

Without teammates to slow her down, Haru was ruthless. If she didn't take them down with a single swing of the axe, then Lady M would be able to finish them off in a blast. Useless little Haru, now unstoppable on her own. 

A trail of destruction in her wake, Haru arrived at the end of the path, where an attraction sat all alone. It seemed to be some sort of haunted house according to the sign, except that it didn't look haunted. If anything, it looked picturesque, quaint. The kind of home Haru had hoped she might have one day.

Well, at least it wasn't too big. Certainly the key would be there somewhere. Hopefully displayed proudly on a wall over the fireplace. 

Her first step into the house, though, she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Brightly lit and warm, the house was an absolute lived-in mess. Everything looked important because nothing was. Maybe it wasn't worth the search, wasting all that time - there have to be keys in other places.

But as she turned around to walk back out the door, she heard the echo of a mother's voice: "find me."

So this house _was_ important. And maybe wherever that voice was coming from would be the same place the key lay. It was the best lead Haru had so far. 

The only place she had to go was farther in. She turned to find a hallway, one door on either side and a staircase at the end. As good a place to start looking as any. 

She checked the door on the left, leaned in to see what seemed to be a child's bedroom. Toys strewn everywhere, a messily made bed. And no mother. Then to the right - a laundry room, clothing for a woman and a boy hanging up to dry. Not a living soul.

With a sigh, Haru shut the door. She continued down the hallway and started walking up the stairs. About halfway up, she paused. Someone was humming. A woman. The woman she was looking for. 

Reinvigorated, she ran all the way up the rest of the stairs. There was another hallway full of doors, but now Haru had something more to guide her. Once at the landing, she stepped slowly and quietly. Every part of her hearing had to latch onto the hum. 

About halfway through the hallway, she paused by a door where the volume seemed to increase. She put her ear up against the door, and surely enough the sound of humming was coming from the other side. She found it. She found her.

But the moment Haru opened the door, she was met with dead silence and a bathtub overflowing with blood, a female corpse just barely visible inside. Her hand dangled over the side, holding a somehow pristine, shining key. 

Once Haru managed to pull her hands away from her mouth, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. She needed the key. She needed it.

But God. The scene was just so human. Shadows didn't bleed like that. They just fell and it was easy and right and fun. This was brutal, and Haru hadn't even seen anything happen. Only the aftermath. 

_Did Akechi see this too? Or did he only imagine?_

She couldn't dwell on it too long. She still had two other keys to fetch. 

When her fingers touched those of the dead woman, she instinctively pulled in a breath. She had the key, but turning around as if she'd seen nothing felt unspeakably wrong. After all, this must've been the woman who guided her through. 

"Thank you," she murmured. "I'm so, so sorry."

And then she turned and ran away. 

Haru had to venture almost all the way to the other side of the park before she noticed an anomaly: a crowd of cognitions were gathering. Well, at least Goro Akechi saw others as human. A small consolation for his massive palace. 

As she crept in further, she saw a small, raised stage with a closed curtain. A puppet theatre. 

Haru was far from interested, but the popularity of the exhibition made her wonder if this might lead her to the next key somehow. It was certainly a marked difference from the rest of the park, which was quiet except for prowling shadows. 

Excited chatters gave way to frenzied shushing. The hush of the audience was then replaced by the gentle whish of the curtain opening. There was just one puppet present: a grotesque marionette of Goro Akechi, dressed in his signature tan detective coat. 

"I will avenge my mother, and destroy my father!" he announced. The puppeteer was doing him no favors - the voice he put on was squeaky and full of cracks. But there was something familiar about him. So Haru chose to focus on him, even as the rest of the audience waited impatiently for the next character to arrive. 

Quickly, though, their focus whipped up to join Haru's as the puppeteer himself took on his own role.

"You must do as I say," he said, voice now deep and clear.

Haru knew she recognized the puppeteer's face, but more important was his voice. She knew that voice. But...what was a politician doing in Akechi's mind?

"Foolish, unknowing father," the marionette hissed. "Your ignorance will be your downfall!"

Masayoshi Shido was his father? It made sense. Especially if Shido himself didn't realize. And he was the puppet master for a vengeful Akechi...

The pieces were beginning to fall together. Akechi, the valiant hero, strings pulled by a prominent politician, his father on whom he would one day get his revenge. All the insider knowledge, the inherent understanding of the Metaverse, the countless calculated mental shutdowns, including her father's...it all made sense. It was at least enough to get Haru to lean in further, even if the performance itself was wretched.

But just as she was starting to get engaged, the marionette leaned down to pick up his great weapon. He re-emerged with something golden, shining. The key. 

Haru's mind went blank, pushing away everything except for the key. Her target. She started slowly pushing her way to the front of the crowd, met with grumbles of complaint from the other audience members. But even so, no one pushed her back, and soon she was in the front row. The marionette was right there, holding the key.

No time for second thoughts. She snagged it and ran, toppling countless audience members in her mad dash of an escape. She heard the yells to stop her, but she just kept on running. They could only follow her for so long. 

When she was nearly certain she was safe and alone, Haru swept over to a corner to rest. She tried to catch her breath but started coughing. God. She better find this next key fast. Otherwise, she was going to have to come back to the palace another day - dangerous. Rest was a risk, every moment she spent not making progress another chance of getting caught. 

Then a glint in the corner of her eye pulled her attention elsewhere. No way. She didn't already find the key, did she? Could it really be that easy? 

Of course it wasn't, but Haru couldn't help but be drawn further in regardless. The glittering hadn't been the key, but rather a hall of mosaics showing the legendary story of a child with a sword and a laser gun. She ran her finger along the ridges of the glass, feeling every bump and divet.

This was Akechi. She recognized the weapons and the brown hair and the white, princely outfit. And this hallway was the queue to another attraction - maybe even where the final key remained.

The park goers must've all crowded around the puppet show, or at least found no interest in this particular attraction. But for Haru, it seemed to be the right direction.

"Become the Hero," the sign proclaimed. Pictured as a prize was the key: perfect, golden, shining. But as she stepped forward in the queue, she found herself face to face with a shadow, dressed in some sort of colorful uniform. 

_Stay calm, Haru. There were shadows that didn't attack in Sae's palace. Maybe this is the same thing._

"Are you here to fight?" it asked.

Haru pressed her lips together to think before she responded. "Yes," she said. "And if I win?"

"You get a golden key. Very precious."

"What exactly do I have to do?"

"Defeat the boss. Become the hero."

Haru nearly rolled her eyes at the vague descriptions of her task, but instead stayed steady and said, "Fine. Let me in."

As she started to push her way forward, the shadow grabbed her shoulder. She started to wonder if perhaps the battle was this apparent employee in front of her, but soon realized as it spoke.

"You can only use the weapons we provide to you."

Haru grit her teeth. She hadn't trained for hours with her axe and dagger just to have them taken away at her moment of need.

But fine. She needed the key. And she still had her most powerful weapon.

She took the toy-like sword and gun, both of which felt light and plastic in her hands. Practically useless. But she could get some damage out of them before they snapped. 

"Will I get my weapons back after I win?" 

"Of course," the shadow replied. "Assuming you do win."

Haru huffed out a breath before entering the arena. It was a strange place, if it could even be called a place at all. Really, it was more like a void. Dark emptiness all around, yet not true darkness. She could still see herself perfectly well, despite the fact there was no evident lighting source. But what did that matter without an enemy?

Then red flames licked up from the ground just feet away from her. Rising like smoke came a dizzying twist of white and black, far taller than Haru.

"Loki?" she murmured. Fighting Akechi's persona to become the hero...

There was no time for her to consider the meaning as Loki launched his first attack. Haru, caught in her thoughts, felt the hit land in her shoulder: a hissing, smoldering curse. 

"Damn it." She took one glance at her weapons and knew they would be useless against Loki. The game was rigged for the challenger to lose. Unless, of course, the challenger had a persona.

In one smooth movement, Haru threw both of the useless plastic toys back behind her, hearing them clatter against the ground. Then, with her now free hand, she raised her hand to her mask.

"Lady M!" she cried, ripping the mask away. Her persona arrived instantly, glorious and bloodstained. It was true, Lady M didn't have any particular skills that targeted Loki's weaknesses. But the fact that Haru already knew Loki's weaknesses - as well as his strengths - meant that she had an advantage.

It was a battle of brutality. Both Loki and Lady M were designed to maul past enemies. Haru forced herself to sustain through hit after hit, praying that she could chip down his life force as quickly as possible. If she'd stuck with the plastic weapons, she would've lost ages ago. Now it was a matter of persistence, of endurance.

But if she kept up at this rate, she would lose. Loki didn't sustain the damage the way she did as a human being. It didn't tire him out or wear him down, whereas she could feel herself fraying. She had to have some sort of strategy - just continuing to hit and hope wouldn't work.

Then an idea. It was a risk, but it was the only thing she had that could lead to victory.

She sent Lady M to charm Loki and prayed it would hit. She couldn't tell one way or another right away - he didn't show the signs like a shadow or a human. But when a rare moment went by and he hadn't thrown anything her way, she started wondering if maybe, just maybe...

With a psi attack launched at him, Loki toppled to the ground. It worked. And with one final massive bludgeon from Lady M, he dissolved into smoke.

A frame of light appeared behind where Loki had just vanished. Haru placed her mask back on her face and stepped out of it, met with a treasure chest. She opened it to find three things: her dagger, her axe, and the key. 

On her way out, Haru passed a shadow - maybe the one she'd seen before entering the arena, it was difficult to tell.

"You...you survived..."

Haru paused for a moment.

"I won."

She limped all the way back to the castle. Haru simply had to pray that whatever final battle awaited her in the castle wouldn't be too strenuous. It would take a long time to recover from the Loki battle, but she refused to admit it to herself, no matter how many bruises and burns she could count on her skin. She would make it through one way or another. She had to. She couldn't let Akechi win. 

With just a few slow moving yards left before she reached the castle, a child with a messy dark mop of hair and glasses dashed past her. She felt a shock of familiarity, but didn't recognize him until he paused and looked at her for a moment.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said. 

"Akira?" Haru's voice emerged before she'd yet to process what she was saying.

He remained unfazed. 

"You should go before it's too late."

Then the boy ran off without another word, without looking back at Haru. She watched him trail away across the park and tried to understand. Cognitive Akira was a child? Akechi thought of him as so much lesser? That didn't seem right, given their conversations, given her observations. But that had to be him.

No more stalling. He was just an excuse to avoid the final confrontation.

Standing in front of the castle door, Haru could feel her heart humming. It was happening. It was really, finally happening. The first lock gone. Then the second. Then the third. And all she had left to do was open the door. 

With one final breath, she pushed her way into the castle, stepping into a massive grand hall. It was nearly empty, however, except for a small child with brown hair and glistening yellow eyes sitting at the head of the table. 

This. The core self of Goro Akechi, Detective Prince. It would be enough to send her into hysterics, if Haru wasn't thinking of what had to come next.

His eyes flicked up to her, their expression unreadable.

"Aren't you that mean lady?" 

"What?"

The sound of footsteps chimed in with a familiar voice from behind. 

"Yes, I am."

Haru turned to look over her shoulder and then saw herself. Or someone not quite herself.

A cognitive Haru, dressed in a brightly colored button-down with a glossy name tag, glided in. Haru simply stared at this mirror image of herself. She'd known this was a possibility - she'd seen a cognitive self in her father's palace, after all - but it still stunned her. 

The shadow's whimper brought her out of her daze. Haru glanced back to Akechi, who was cowering in a corner. 

"Oh, baby boy, am I ruining your fun?" The cognitive Haru smiled widely, her eyes flashing. Her only response from the boy was a muffled cry. 

"Haru?" Saying her own name felt strange, but her cognitive self turned to her and nodded. 

"Noir. Never thought the day would come that I'd see you here. I'm glad you did, though."

"I..." Haru faltered. "We're the mean lady...?"

Cognitive Haru laughed. "Well, I certainly am. I'm only as nice as I need to be."

_So, this is what he thinks of me. I'm a bitch._

"What have you done to him? He's terrified of you. Of us."

Cognitive Haru tilted her head back and forth. "Nothing _really_. I can't _actually_ do a thing to him. Unfortunately. Company rules and all. I just pester him. A little obstacle in his way. But you, my dear, our special guest..."

Haru blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know _exactly_ what I mean. Otherwise you wouldn't have come so well equipped."

Haru tried not to think too much about the idea of a cognitive version of her knowing about her plans of death. She simply stayed silent. Was this a trap?

"This is what you came here for, isn't it? To carve out his heart?" Cognitive Haru folded her arms over Haru's shoulder, rested her head. Her lips were placed just so to whisper into her ear. "You know if it was yours against the knife, you'd already be dead."

She started slipping the dagger from its case, casting it into Haru's hands. The hilt had never felt so cold. It almost shocked her out of her tunnel vision. Almost.

"It's all up to you now," her cognitive self murmured. 

Then the room was quiet. Akechi's eyes locked onto the dagger, and Haru knew he understood everything that was about to happen. 

Good. She wanted him to die afraid.

But as she stepped forward, she noticed something was wrong.

_He's not going to fight back?_ She was expecting a scream, a gust of wind, a monster appearing before her. But he just sat there, staring up at her, shaking.

He didn't fight back as she knelt down. He didn't fight back at all.

All he said was, "Please, don't."

If it didn't stop Haru, it made her slow down. Was she supposed to feel bad for him? To feel a wave of sympathy so strong she couldn't bear to move her hand?

She did feel bad for him. She felt horrible. 

But it didn't change anything. Pity and mercy weren't the same thing. 

No one who'd pitied her had ever been merciful. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered. 

Two sharp, quick movements, in and out, over in an instant. His shadow's death was surprisingly human and agonizingly slow. Haru stood back and watched it all, the blood, the breath, the fading. Then, finally, all was silent except for the sound of her breath and the gentle drip from her dagger.

She turned to face her cognitive self, sensing the rumble of the palace's ruin beginning. 

Cognitive Haru was smiling again. It wasn't a smile of malice or triumph, but one of relief. 

"Thank you," she said. "Now get out of here. It'll all be for nothing if you don't get out."

So Haru ran. 

**Author's Note:**

> so :') i'm doing a multi-chapter fic for the first time in years. hoping to do at least fairly regular updates, but we'll see what happens with...school, and all. never the less, i have a lot of ideas going forward, and a solid plan i cannot wait to unfurl. just stay along for the ride <3


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